1996 Edition

Description

three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red

Location

60 00 N, 100 00 E -- Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US

land area

16,995,800 sq km

total area

17,075,200 sq km

Climate

ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Coastline

37,653 km

Environment

current issues

air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination

international agreements

party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

natural hazards

permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula

Geographic coordinates

60 00 N, 100 00 E

Geographic note

largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture

International disputes

inherited disputes from former USSR including sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation

Irrigated land

56,000 sq km (1992)

Land boundaries

border countries

Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km

total

19,913 km

Land use

arable land

8%

forest and woodland

45%

meadows and pastures

5%

other

42%

permanent crops

NEGL%

Location

Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean

Map references

Asia

Maritime claims

continental shelf

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural resources

wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber

note

formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Terrain

broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

highest point

Mount El'brus 5,633 m

lowest point

Caspian Sea -28 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854) 15-64 years: 67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902) 65 years and over: 12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

10.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

16.34 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%

Infant mortality rate

24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Russian, other

Life expectancy at birth

female

70.31 years (1996 est.)

male

56.51 years

total population

63.24 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)

female

97%

male

100%

total population

98%

Nationality

adjective

Russian

noun

Russian(s)

Net migration rate

5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.07% (1996 est.)

Religions

Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other

Sex ratio

all ages

0.88 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.43 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

1.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular - avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkaria (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia (Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tuva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia (Izhevsk), Yakutia - also known as Sakha (Yakutsk); 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'); Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel, Orenburg, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'; 6 krays (krayev, singular - kray); Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'; 10 autonomous okrugs; Aga (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenkia (Tura), Khantia-Mansia (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakia (Palana), Nenetsia (Nar'yan-Mar), Permyakia (Kudymkar), Taymyria (Dudinka), Ust'-Onda (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalia (Salekhard); 1 autonomous oblast (avtomnykh oblast'); Birobijan

note

the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; an administrative division has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Capital

Moscow

Constitution

adopted 12 December 1993

Council of Heads of Administrations

includes the leaders of the 66 autonomous territories and regions, and the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg

Council of Heads of Republics

includes the leaders of the 21 ethnic-based Republics

Data code

RS

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

chief of mission

Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV

telephone

[1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704

Executive branch

chief of state

President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage under the constitution of 12 December 1993, but subsequent presidents, beginning with the 16 June 1996 election, will serve a four-year term; election last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held 16 June 1996); results - percent of vote NA; note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months

head of government

Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation Government Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992), First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Vladimir KADANNIKOV (since 25 January 1996) were appointed by the president on approval of the Dumas

FAX

[1] (202) 298-5735

[7] (095) 956-42-61

consulate(s) general

New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

consulate(s) general

St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

Federation Council

178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units (oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg)

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red

Group of Assistants

schedules president's appointments, processes presidential edicts and other official documents, and houses the president's press service and primary speechwriters

Independence

24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

International organization participation

BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic disputes), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president

Legal system

based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

Legislative branch

bicameral Federal Assembly

Name of country

conventional long form

Russian Federation

conventional short form

Russia

former

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

local long form

Rossiyskaya Federatsiya

local short form

Rossiya

National holiday

Independence Day, June 12 (1990)

Other political or pressure groups

NA

Political parties and leaders

centrists/special interest parties

Congress of Russian Communities, Yuriy SKOKOV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina LAKHOVA anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY; Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN; Power To the People, Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN; Russian Communist Workers' Party, Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN

note

some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17 December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded

pro-market democrats

Our Home Is Russia, Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN; Yabloko Bloc, Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Russia's Democratic Choice Party, Yegor GAYDAR; Forward, Russia!, Boris FEDOROV

Presidential Administration

drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to the entire executive branch

cabinet

Ministries of the Government or "Government" was appointed by the president

Presidential Council

prepares policy papers for the president

Security Council

originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991, but restructured in March 1992, with responsibility for managing individual and state security

State Duma

elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999); results - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of

the 225 party list seats

Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats - (450 total - half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists) Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, Independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type of government

federation

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador Thomas R. PICKERING

embassy

Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow

mailing address

APO AE 09721

telephone

[7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59

Agriculture

grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk

Budget

expenditures

$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

revenues

$NA

Currency

1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks

Economic aid

note

US commitments, including Ex-Im (1990-95), $14 billion (1990-95); other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1990-95), $125 billion

recipient

ODA, $2.8 billion (1993)

Economic overview

Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern-market economy. The break-up of the USSR into 15 successor states in late 1991 destroyed major economic links that have been only partially replaced. As a result of these dislocations and the failure of the government to implement a rigorous and consistent reform program, output in Russia has dropped by one-third since 1990 (instead of the one-half previously estimated). On the one hand, President YEL'TSIN's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program in 1994, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. On the other hand, Russia has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy; and the strong showing of the communists and nationalists in the Duma elections in December 1995 casts a shadow over prospects for further reforms. In 1995, the new cash privatization program went slower than planned. The state claims that the nonstate sector produced approximately 70% of GDP in 1995, up from 62% in 1994, although these figures apparently include many enterprises that have only nominally moved out of state control. Moscow has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. Stockholder rights remain ill-defined and the Duma has yet to adopt a land code that would allow development of land markets as sources of needed capital. Russia's securities market remains largely unregulated and suffers from the lack of a comprehensive securities law. In addition, Moscow has yet to develop a social safety net that would allow faster restructuring by relieving enterprises of the burden of providing social benefits for their workers. Most rank-and-file Russians perceive they are worse off because of growing crime and health problems, the drop in real wages, the great rise in wage arrears, and the widespread threat of unemployment. The number of Russians living below the official poverty level rose by 10% to 36.6 million people, or 25% of the population. The decline in output slowed during 1995, and some sectors showed signs of a turnaround; analysts forecast the resumption of growth in 1996 - at a low rate. Russian official data, which fail to capture a considerable portion of private sector output and employment, show that GDP declined by 4% in 1995, as compared with a 15% decline in 1994. Despite continued declines in agricultural and industrial production, unemployment climbed only slowly to about 8% of the work force by yearend because government policies aimed at softening the impact of reforms have created incentives for enterprises to keep workers on the rolls even as production slowed to a crawl. Moscow renewed tightened financial policies in early 1995 and succeeded in reducing monthly consumer price inflation from 18% in January to about 3% in December, the lowest monthly rate since the beginning of reform. According to official trade statistics, Russia ran a $19.9 billion trade surplus for 1995, up from $15.9 billion in 1994. It continued to shift its trade away from the other former Soviet republics toward the West, with the CIS countries' share of Russian trade falling to 22% in 1995. Russia made good progress with official and commercial creditors in 1995 in resolving the issue of its $105 billion in Soviet-era debts. When completed, these Paris Club and London Club rescheduling agreements will reduce Russia's repayment liabilities from $20 billion to less than $5 billion annually through the end of the decade. Capital flight reportedly continued to be a problem in 1995, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe.

Electricity

capacity

213,100,000 kW

consumption per capita

5,800 kWh (1994)

production

876 billion kWh

Exchange rates

rubles per US$1 - 4,640 (29 December 1995), 3,550 (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993)

Exports

$77.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)

commodities

petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures

partners

Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba

External debt

$130 billion (yearend 1995)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $796 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

6%

industry

41%

services

53%

GDP per capita

$5,300 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

-4% (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs

illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe and Latin America

Imports

$57.9 billion (c.i.f., 1995)

commodities

machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products

partners

Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba

Industrial production growth rate

-3% (1995 est.)

Industries

complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7% monthly average (1995 est.)

Labor force

85 million (1993)

by occupation

production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%

Unemployment rate

8.2% (December 1995) with considerable additional underemployment

Branches

Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

note

the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia fell by about 20% in real terms in 1995, reducing Russian defense outlays to about one-fifth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

38,673,991

males fit for military service

30,224,738

males reach military age (18) annually

1,105,004 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there are about 1,050 (including AM, FM, and shortwave) radio broadcast stations throughout the country

Radios

50 million (1993 est.)(radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)

Telephone system

total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100; enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only 661,000 new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991, and in 1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones reached 11,000,000; expanded access to international electronic mail service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially with respect to international connections

domestic

NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg; intercity fiber-optic cable installation remains limited

international

international traffic is inadequately handled by a system of satellites, landlines, microwave radio relay, and outdated submarine cables; much of this traffic passes through the international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States; a new Russian Intersputnik satellite will link Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations - NA Intelsat, 4 Intersputnik (2 Atlantic Ocean Region and 2 Indian Ocean Region), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean Region), and NA Orbita

Telephones

25.4 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations

7,183

Televisions

54.85 million (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

2,517

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

108

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

202

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

115

with paved runways over 3 047 m

54

with paved runways under 914 m

151

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

134

with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

45

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

291

with unpaved runways over 3 047 m

25

with unpaved runways under 914 m

1,392 (1994 est.)

Highways

paved

NA km

total

934,000 km (including 445,000 km which serve specific industries or farms and are not available for common carrier use)

unpaved

NA km (1994 est.)

Merchant marine

note

Russia owns an additional 163 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,276,829 DWT operating under the registries of Malta, Cyprus, Liberia, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, The Bahamas, and Vanuatu (1995 est.)

ships by type

barge carrier 2, bulk 25, cargo 406, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 17, container 31, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 134, passenger 4, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2

total

745 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,730,178 GRT/9,385,565 DWT

Pipelines

crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)

Ports

Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg

Railways

broad gauge

154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)

total

154,000 km; note - 87,000 km in common carrier service (38,000 km electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use

Waterways

total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)